The Michael Phelps marijuana scandal may be coming to a close as a South Carolina sheriff declared today that the Olympic gold medalist would not be charged over a photo which shows the young man partaking of the illicit drug.
According to Leon Lott, the Richland County Sheriff in charge of the investigation, he couldn’t ignore the photo and despite Michael Phelps’ star status “He is still obligated to obey the laws of our state”. Yet authorities indicate that no charges shall be directed towards the eight time gold medalist.
Although Phelps may have avoided criminal prosecution his actions have provoked serious repercussions from other quarters; USA Swimming suspended Phelps for three, and Kellogg Co. said it would not renew its endorsement deal with him.
The photo in question shows Phelps smoking from a marijuana pipe at a party in November when he visited the University of South Carolina (USC). The photo surfaced in a February edition of the British newspaper, News of the World, and the athlete did not dispute its authenticity.
Michael Phelps has since apologized for his actions calling his judgments bad and indicating that he would learn from his mistakes. The USC party occurred nearly three months after his sweep at the Olympics, during which he faced various drug tests which he passed with no indication of banned substance use.
This is not Michel Phelps’ first run-in with authorities. In 2004 he faced a drunken driving charge at the age of 19. Phelps again apologized for his actions at the time and plead guilty to the charges.
By: Alberto Ramos Cordero
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